Re: Sumpter Freight - A Question

I wonder if during the years when hauling sheep to mkt. was going on if hauling wool from shearing of the sheep bands down in the PC country would have been a major anual event? If I understand correctly a lot of the livestock business went away from the SVRy when the UP (OSL) built into Burns farther south. Bob Bergstrom recently e-mailed me about an interesting ancecdote concerning chromium ore and the SVRy. I'll leave the anecdote for him to relate if he wishes, but part of the story implies that during WW1 the RR would have been hauling chromium ore from Grant County. Based on conversation with my neighbor who grew up over toward Hereford, Whitney was the station they would ride horseback or by wagon to, in order to reach the outside world. Before roads were improved in the 20 and 30's quite a bit of freight for these even more remote areas may have been carried by the SVRy for pick up at the 4 or 5 depots along the line. Pure speculation on my part.